Here's The Latest Big News On Russia And The U.S. Election

Eight days to go.

A whirlwind of news on Monday strongly suggests that Donald Trump has deep ties to Russia. Or that there’s no evidence of a link between the GOP nominee and the Russian government.

The contradictory reports do make clear that Justice Department officials have been investigating Trump and his associates to see whether they have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Russian banks.

For example, the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the email account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, may be acts of political sabotage aimed at disrupting the U.S. election ― and not intended to boost Trump, according to the Times. (The report didn’t explain why an attempt by Russia to undermine American democracy would only involve targeting one party.)

Trump has asserted that he doesn’t “know Putin” and is “no puppet” of the Russian president. The Times story says investigators have found no strings by which he’s being directed.

But other news published on Monday raises questions, and underscores a Trump coziness with Russia that is unconventional for a modern presidential candidate during a time of heightened tension between the superpowers.

Here are some of the revelations.

1. Computer Scientists Believe A Trump Server Was Communicating With A Russian Bank

The purpose of the servers is unclear, according to the article, and it’s unknown whether they exchanged data sent by humans or anything else. Foer reported the communication appeared to resemble “the pattern of human conversation” and took place during normal working hours in both New York and Moscow.

The Times says FBI officials looked into the data and concluded “there could be an innocuous explanation.”

Foer acknowledges in his piece that “what the scientists amassed wasn’t a smoking gun.” But he does note the “suggestive” evidence.

The Trump Organization shuttered the server once reporters began asking about it. Another server set up over the same pathway four days later was again closed after questions.

Manafort came under intense scrutiny earlier this year for work for pro-Russian forces in the Ukrainian government.

The New York Times found his namein a secret ledger that designated $12.7 million in undisclosed payments as part of what it described as an “illegal off-the-books system” conducted by the political party of Ukraine’s former president.

But The New York Times reports that the FBI has looked into Manafort’s “ties with a kleptocratic government in Ukraine — and whether he had declared the income in the United States — and not necessarily on any Russian influence over Mr. Trump’s campaign.”

3. FBI Head James Comey Opposed Naming Russia As An Election Meddler

Credit: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

FBI Director James Comey argued againstreleasing a statement that accused the Russian government of trying to influence the U.S. election, saying it would be too close to the election and may influence voters, according to CNBC.

That would appear to contradict the director’s reason for his widely lambasted decision to send a letter to lawmakers last week aboutnew emails found on a computer seized from former Congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Comey said he “cannot yet assess” whether the emails are “significant” andhas left voters in the dark.

The Clinton camp on Monday declared that Comey’s refusal to sign the Russia statement was a “double standard” and “nothing short of jaw dropping.”

4. A Veteran Spy Apparently Tried To Tip The FBI That Russia Was Cultivating Trump

Credit: Yuri Kochetkov/Reuters

This is the wildest story of the day.

Mother Jones reported that in June, a “former Western intelligence officer who spent almost two decades on Russian intelligence matters and who now works with a U.S. firm that gathers information on Russia for corporate clients,” compiled a dossier on whether Trump was compromised by Putin.

What this “veteran spy” found was something out of a political thriller, the gist being that Trump is apparently deeply indebted to Russian businesses and has been endorsed by Putin and may be a Manchurian candidate.

It is an extraordinary story, attributed to a single source. And it seems to be at odds with what what FBI officials have found, according to The New York Times report.